Ed White, perhaps the greatest offensive lineman in San Diego Chargers history, has a problem.
His son Tim and grandson Ty will coach against each other on Friday night — Tim for Francis Parker, Ty for Borrego Springs.
So who is Ed White rooting for?
”A tie, I hope,” Ed said.
What Ed doesn’t want is one of those T-shirts you see on TV with Parker on one half and Borrego Springs on the other.
“No. None of that,” Ed said. “My wife (Joan) and I will flip a coin. One will wear Parker gear, the other Borrego Springs.”
It won’t be his only flip of the day.
Ed White will do the coin toss before Friday’s eight-man game, which starts at 6 p.m. He will be joined by Tim and Ty in what could be a first — a three-generation salute to football.
The pregame honor was the idea of longtime referee Bobby Hood, a former Chargers executive who has known the White family for decades. Hood will officiate the game.
“Bobby reached out and got my Pops involved,” Tom White said. “What a great idea. We’re a football family, and this is a unique situation.”
Ed White started his high school career at Helix, but the family moved to the desert and he finished at Indio. White was an All-American at Cal and an All-Pro with the Chargers, teaming with fellow offensive linemen Billy Shields, Russ Washington, Doug Wilkerson and Don Macek to protect Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts in the “Air Coryell” offense.
Fouts has continually endorsed Ed White for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Tim White, also an offensive lineman, played at Julian High School and Southwestern College.
Ty, a receiver, played for Tim at Borrego Springs before suiting up at Southwestern College. Ty then went to work for his father as an assistant coach.
Tim White left Borrego for Parker in April, where — as football coach and athletic director — he’ll attempt to move the program back to the 11-man ranks.
Ty White replaced his dad at Borrego. Friday marks the 24-year-old Ty’s first game as a head coach.
“This is another level of ‘Oh damn,” Ty White said. “It’s crazy. It’s the game of the year, a must-watch game.
“My dad and I didn’t plan it this way. The schedule just kind of worked out. I was a waterboy for my dad’s team for as long as I can remember. Then I played for him. Then coached with him.
”We both played at Southwestern College, where Jimmy Hammond was the trainer for both of us. And ‘Hambone’ was the trainer for the Chargers when my grandpa played.”
Ty White said he’s learned that “being a head coach carries much more responsibility than being an assistant.”
Ty is working on a bachelor’s degree in education at Cal State San Marcos with an eye on a teaching credential. He wants to follow his dad and grandmother into the profession.
“This situation is such a blessing,” he said. “This is what I want to do. Kids want to learn, they need positive role models. I want to help and guide kids. I learned that from my dad and grandpa.
”There are some challenges at Borrego Springs. It was 117 degrees on Tuesday for practice, so we lifted weights until it cooled to 108, and we had a limited practice.”
Tim White expects Ty to run the same offense that the pair ran at Borrego Springs.
Francis Parker will counter with a new defensive coordinator: 30-year head coach Ron Hamamoto. The Union-Tribune’s 2024-25 Boys Coach of the Year is in his first year on Tim White’s staff.
“So that will be a challenge,” Ty White said. “But I’ve got a few wrinkles prepared — hopefully things he’s not expecting.”
Tim White said Parker will be prepared for anything Ty will throw at him.
”It’s my son’s first game as a head coach, and I couldn’t be prouder,” Tim White said. “I know he’d like to hang a loss on the old man.
“You can’t get lost in the emotion of the event. You have to coach it like it’s any other game. Business as usual. But Pops is worried about not screwing up the coin toss. Ty and I are worried about winning our first game.
”So it’s not business as usual. And we all know that.”